US Ambassador call on Regional Minister

Mr Joseph Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, on Friday granted audience to Ms Mary Carlin Yates, the United States Ambassador in Ghana in Sekondi.

Mr Aidoo briefed the ambassador about the refugees situation in the region, saying, over 100,000 refugees from La Cote d'Ivoire have passed through the region on their way to Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria over the past few weeks.

He said the refugees who were mostly women were catered for with the support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Mr Aidoo said refugees from Liberia have started arriving in the region and the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) was in contact with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on how to handle the situation.

Ms Yates said last year, the United States government spent 30 million dollars on refugees in Africa alone through the UNHCR.

She said the tourism development section of the United States Agency (USAID) could assist in the development of the sector in the region.

Ms Yates said the West Africa Gas Pipeline would be of immense benefit in the industrial development of the region in that it could provide the energy for an industrial take-off.